Foreign languages on the O2 Community

[Toby]

Hi guys,

There have been some recent discussions regarding the use of foreign languages on the O2 Community by members from around the world. There have been some interesting views on how to manage this such as:

- Allowing OPs to be written in a foreign language and then translated by the first replier along with the advice they want to give

- To remove all foreign content. The Community Team will then contact said members to ask them to post in English

We don't want to inhibit members getting, but we also want everyone to be able to understand what they are discussing or offering advice on.

Its not an issue that crops up often at all, but its an important one so Id love to hear all of your thoughts! 

[Cleoriff]

Obviously I have strong opinions about this due to my recent involvement in a thread where the OP required help and posted in Slovakian.
I used Google to search for the language and translation. I replied in the OPs language but provided an explanation in English for other members. I was totally unaware that forum T's&C's required English to be spoken at at all times. (I had seen a post a few months ago written in Russian and one of our members replied in the same language and was applauded for it)
All that aside, I think we have a duty of care to all our new members who may be from foreign countries where English is not their first language
I am NOT advocating 'open house' with foreign language posts. I just think common sense should prevail ....and on the rare occasion help is required immediately, we should have the freedom to respond in the language posted.

I think there should be some 'rules' round any such posting
* The post should always have an English translation for the rest of the community.
* We should also start every response by advising the OP that English is the preferred language
The way I view this is...you have a choice whether you want to involve yourself in  the reply or not...
I personally found it hard work....on the other hand I really felt I had helped the poster...

[blissgirl]

@Cleoriff I agree & think it would be good to have this

[perksie]

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@Cleoriff wrote:

I think there should be some 'rules' round any such posting
* The post should always have an English translation for the rest of the community.
* We should also start every response by advising the OP that English is the preferred language
The way I view this is...you have a choice whether you want to involve yourself in  the reply or not...

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  I totally agree, these suggestions are spot on! 

[Anonymous]

Speaking from a practical point of view, I think people should post in English. Surely the majority of O2's customers are residents in the UK, and if English isn't their first language, then it's a good opportunity for them to improve it.

[Bambino]

There are many O2 customers whose first language isn't English, and they may have difficulty explaining their problem if they can only post using English. I would prefer they post in their own language, without feeling limited to only posting in English. They may feel intimidated if their command of the language isn't very good. As @Cleoriff suggests, if someone wants to take the time to translate and reply, it should be up to the individual to do so.

There are also many customers whose first language is English, but their spelling and grammar are pretty atrocious too. An automatic spell checker would help enormously. I know Facebook uses one. Why can't the software on this site?

[Cleoriff]

I will also add something else. Many people are allowed to have a signature using a Latin phrase, saying or quote. Why should that be any different? I certainly have to use Google translate if I want to know the meaning of such signatures. ( I studied Latin for a while ...it still remains a mystery to me)

I just think the forum needs to be very careful that they aren't seen to be applying one rule for one thing and something completely different elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to discourage people from posting because of a potential language barrier, I was just trying to be honest about the practical difficulties involved, if there aren't enough members with sufficient language skills to help out (and that includes staff, who have to moderate these forums). I've never really tried Google Translate, but is it a reliable aid to translation?

[Cleoriff]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to discourage people from posting because of a potential language barrier, I was just trying to be honest about the practical difficulties involved, if they aren't enough members with sufficient language skills to help out (and that includes staff, who have to moderate these forums). I've never really tried Google Translate, but is it a reliable aid to translation?

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I find Google translate to be excellent Ian.

Also just to reiterate...I am not suggesting for one minute that we encourage people to post in all foreign languages. This was a one off.  The poster came on late at night distraught because their phone had been cut off and they thought the bill had been paid. It was 2 lines of post in Slovakian. I copied the post ..pasted it into google translate and the translation was immediate. (It even identified the language)

I posted a response in Slovakian with an English translation. The advice I gave was that they should get in touch with  customer services with the 'Contact us' link

[perksie]

And it was that event which brought us here, we won't know how well this will work, but we can certainly give it a try.